After 28 years of documenting New York City's cultures and communities in audio, still images and film, the staff at City Lore thought the time was right to share what we've learned by establishing he City Lore Documentary Institute, now in its second year. Cosponsored by Public Art Films, Manhattan Neighborhood Network and the Bronx Documentary Center, the institute is an intensive immersion program in New York City through which current and aspiring artists, activists, and cultural documentarians advance their skills in multimedia storytelling and create their own documentary piece for the culminating exhibition.

The three week institute begins with a crash course on oral history, folklore and activist approaches to cultural documentation including sessions on pitching your story and grant writing. Students select one of three strands for the second two weeks: multimedia/photography, taught by Michael Kamber, director of the Bronx Documentary Center and a celebrated photojournalist and war photographer with 25 years of experience; radio, taught by Ann Heppermann who produces stories for This American Life and All Things Considered; and video, taught by Pam Sporn, award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work interweaves historical narratives and personal storytelling. The Institute fosters close working relationships among students, and includes two celebratory dinners and a final celebration and exhibition of student work.